For my 2 STRs, we went to the location and set them all up ourselves. It took us 2 weeks each. It’s not the most inexpensive way to do it; it would have been more cost-effective to take a month or two and find estate bargains, online local finds, etc. Although we did find a couple of items that way, we got the majority of our furnishings, beds, and amenities at medium-end furniture and department stores.
I highly recommend having a local overseer of your property.
You can set it up so that you communicate with guests, handle payments, etc. but have someone local for housekeeping and being there to help guests with things like bringing extra towels, replacing broken hairdryers, helping guests with keycodes that don’t work, helping them in if elevators go out of service, etc. You can divide duties any way that is agreeable between you and your manager/co-host.
Alternatively, you can take a hands-off approach and find a property manager that specializes in STRs, and have them do everything. They will usually charge a larger fee - usually a percent of revenue, plus handyman visits, monthly keycode charges, item replacement, credit card charges, etc.
Some owners have a great housecleaner who also acts as a local contact for guests. Others have separate housecleaners and managers, and the managers come and check the housecleaners work after every clean.
All kinds of ways to handle it - start putting feelers out to see who is out there in your area. I wouldn’t recommend trying to handle it all yourself remotely, though.
